The Manuscript Division brings together the manuscript collections, oral histories, photographs, and sheet music and sound recordings, to provide an in-depth view of Black history, politics, literature and culture, as only primary source materials can. Included among our resources are more than 200 fully processed manuscripts collections, over 700 oral histories, more than 150,000 photographs and other images, and 3,000 pieces of sheet music. Scholars from across the nation and around the world come to research a past worth sharing.

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Research is by appointment only. Seating is limited. Many of our collections are stored off-site, and advance notice is required to retrieve them for use by researchers. The hours of research are Monday-Friday, 9:00 am to 1:00 pm and 2:00 pm to 4:30 pm. For assistance, call (202) 806-7480.